


Hope Within The Dark

by craziiwolf



Category: Haikyuu!!, Kagehina - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Blindness, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-06-10 02:32:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6935131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craziiwolf/pseuds/craziiwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off the artwork for my AU: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/khblindnessau</p>
<p>A simple race ends in an accident that changes Kageyama's life forever. </p>
<p>A story about someone who once relied fully on something progressing further on through life without it. All with the help of his friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of The End

**Author's Note:**

> This'll be my very first fanfiction and longest story I have ever written in English...And I've haven't had English classes since I was 11 so if there's any tense or grammatical errors, I apologize in advance ;v; I still hope this is enjoyable!

It was morning. 

The muffles of pounding rain can be heard from the windows. Those were the only sounds heard from within the room itself. Those were the first sounds he heard when he slowly woke up. 

Opening his eyes, he first stares at the window, then slowy turns his head to the left to observe the white walls within the room, which had small paintings and a tv. That was the moment he knew he was in a hospital. The calming atmosphere and the sanitizing smell got him to open his eyes a little bit more.

Pain started shooting down his right leg and around the right side of his forehead.

Letting out a weak groan, he carefully lifts his orange bangs to gently stroke the pained area. A bandage was covering it. He couldn't see his leg, as it was hidden under a pastel blue blanket. Why was he here? What happened that landed him here-

Oh. That's right. An accident.

But what happened again..? 

And just like that, Hinata's question was answered by a clear memory. It was nighttime. It was raining. He wanted to race, so they did. He was focused on winning, eyes closed, screaming so loud that he could not hear the voice behind him screaming in warning. 

Hinata ran off the cliff.

And his fall was shielded by Kage-

Hinata quickly gets back to his senses and suddenly moves his head to the full left side of the room, only to see a closed door, a counter with medical tools and a sink,

and Kageyama on a bed, knocked out.

He looked more injured than Hinata was, with bandage wraps covered around his head and both arms. He also had blood supply. Hinata knew that his friend wasn't dead, but peacefully asleep. As soon as he got his hearing back to it's full potential, he could hear Kageyama snoring, and breathing heavily. Hinata wanted to check on him. Wake him up and ask if he was ok.

He got up from his bed, which was troublesome with the pain in his leg, but still possible. He was now able to see his leg injury, which turned out to be a small wound on his knee covered by a bandage patch. That's it.. Kageyama's injuries made his look like tiny cuts. 

After a fast stretch, Hinata slowly makes his way towards the sleeping boy. 

The noise of a door opening causes him to stop and let out a squeal. 

A nurse was standing by the door with a clipboard. She was dark skinned with curly hair tied in a ponytail, with stunning hazelnut-brown eyes with glasses. They kinda..look similar to Tsukkishima's glasses. She wore white scrubs and pink slippers as well.

"Well, you must be Hinata Shouyou." The nurse said with a soothing voice. She clearly wasn't Japanese judging by her accent, but the voice still was welcoming to the orange haired boy.

"Y-yes." Hinata replied. Quietly. He didn't want to wake up Kageyama just yet. "Are you feeling ok?" The nurse asked. "Um..Y-yes." Hinata answered. Again quietly. The nurse walked into the room and washed her hands. Hinata's still standing in place on the side of Kageyama's bed.

"My name is Anamarie, but you can call me Ana." The nurse calmly said with a smile. Hinata was observing her as she made her way to the sleeping boy. Even though Ana was a nurse, he still went into protective mode. He got more tense and started to scarily stare at Ana as she got closer..She then stops.

"I started my job here recently. Before, I used to be a nurse in America. Have you ever been to America, Shouyou?" The nurse was trying to calm him down again with her voice.

He just nods side to side.

"Well you should go there sometime. I'm from Florida" She takes a step closer-

"What are you gonna do to him..?" Hinata shakily asks.

"Just going to check his heartbeat." She answers. "You know this young man?" 

"Yes. He's my friend."

"Ah! This is-" Ana stops checking the heartbeat and grabs her clipboard which seemed to have their infirmation on it. "Ka...Kage...Kagya-"

"Kageyama Tobio" 

"Yes! Sorry, I'm still having some issues with reading" Ana laughed and continued to check Kageyama.

"So you two got in an accident it seems.." Says the nurse.

"Yeah...We were raci-" Hinata's reply was interrupted by an almost silent grunt made by the once-asleep boy. Immediately Hinata gets even closer to Kageyama to the point of their heads facing eachother. Kageyama's eyes tighten..They slowly open up.

Hinata went from relieved...

Straight down to terrified.

Both him and the nurse were staring at him with complete shock.

Kageyama's eyes were only half open, but did not reveal his true eye color. Instead, they were milky white. Lifeless. Like a ghost. Ana never saw something like this before in the years she's been a nurse.

There was a short pause in the room.

"Kageyama...Are...Are you ok..?" Hinata asked, very concerned.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Kageyama?"

"Hold on Dumbass I can't see yet.." Kageyama said faintly with a growl. While Ana tried to figure out what the word "dumbass" (boge) meant. What's that in English..? 

Hinata tilted his head in confusion. It's already been quite a while..

"....................Hey. Hinata."

"Yeah?"

".......Are my eyes open..?

"Uh yes? You still can't see me..?" Hinata's voice cracks as he waves his hand, trying to find a reaction to his friends line of vision. 

Kageyama jolts up to a sitting position. Ignoring the pain in his arms and now his back, he forcefully rubs his eyes and opens his eyes wide. Still unable to see anything, he starts shutting his eyes tightly and opening them up again. Then rubbing again, then shutting, opening..rubbing, shutting, opening..

Hinata is staring at a frantic Kageyama in total fear and disbelief. With shaken breaths. Ana is just as scared as Hinata and observing, simply hoping that this is not what she's assuming.

Blindness? How is that even possible? On the clipboard, it says the patient sustained injuries to the head which could cause memory loss. Smaller injuries were also on his back, arms, left thigh and right leg. Nothing is mentioned about the optic nerve or his eyesight being damaged in general. How is he blind? That makes no sense.

"All I can see...is you..." Kageyama's voice is now barely audible. Hinata lets out a quiet, questioning gasp.

"An orange blur. The rest..is fucking darkness. I can't see anything."

Now tears are combined with the terror and helplessness in his milky eyes.

"What...?" 

Now tears are combined with the terror and disbelief in Hinata's eyes.

"I can't see..I can't SEE I CAN'T SEE!!!" Kageyama, still in the upright position, starts going on a rampage, repeating the same 3 painful words over and over again in screams that got louder and louder, slamming the matress with his fists as the tears streamed down his now red face. Hinata starts whimpering as well, until he loses it and turns towards the frightened nurse.

"WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO TO HIM?!?!" Hinata screams in anger, causing Kageyama to, within his moment of sheer horror, wonder who in the world the orange blur was talking to.

Wait..Where was he? What happened? Why can't he remember anything? Is this a nightmare?

"I-We-The doctors did nothing! All they did was bring you two in, told me what happened and what injuries you'd have and told me to care for you!" Ana answered. She was just as scared and confused as everyone in the room. Well, Kageyama was actually the most freaked out.

Doctors..? So I'm in a hospital. What brought me in a hospital?

Kageyama forcefully stands up and falls right down again, grabs the bed with one hand and starts swinging the other, still screaming.

What did I do to land myself in the hospital?

He starts throwing whatever he could grab across the room as he tries to find the door.

Why can't I remember anything?

A bunch of footsteps are heard from the door out to the hall. Ana was long gone. Hinata was huddled up in a corner of the room, scared to death and in the fetal position. Some thrown objects were hitting him but he couldn't feel or hear anything. Kageyama is still going on a rampage.

How do I wake up from this nightmare?

Before he could slam his head to what seemed to be the end of the door, Kageyama suddenly gets trampled by doctors trying to calm him down.

Give it back. Please give it back. I'm begging you.

He starts screaming like never before. These screams were so terrifying and miserable that Hinata could barely breathe with how hard he was now crying, repeating quiet whimpers under his broken breaths.

Kageyama was now covered with doctors on the floor. His screams now with coughs in between. 

"I'm so sorry.."

The doctors can be heard trying to calm the poor guy down. No luck.

"It's all my fault.."

The screams started getting weaker.

"K-Kageyama..."

Weaker.

"I...I'm"

Silence.

"Sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

....  
Black.   
All black.   
Not even shapes can be seen within the darkness. 

It's like his eyes were forever shut, but they didn't feel like they were. As if he were in a room with no windows, and no light switch. Nothing could be seen..

Nothing except an orange blur.

There were now only 3 people in the once flooded hospital room: Kageyama,  who looked completely lifeless and exhausted like never before, was placed on a stool facing a doctor, who was doing various procedures like flashing lights in Kageyama's eyes, checking his head, waving his finger or hand, etc. Hinata was next to the doctor, staring at Kageyama. He had new cuts on himself from the debris thrown at him during his friend's episode hours ago. However the pain was nothing compared to what he saw in front of him.

"Is there anything you can see, Tobio?" The doctor asked, breaking the long silence.

No answer.

"Tobio? Can you hear me?"

No answer.

"I need you to answer me, or else I cannot help you-"

"Help me..?" Kageyama finally speaks. His expression still the same.

"Yes. Please answer me" 

Kageyama turns his head to the side. Away from the doctor's voice.

"..."

"I know you are very stressed at the moment, but I really need you to answer me."

"..."

"Tobio..Please answer me this instant."

"..."

"Kageyama." Hinata's quiet voice immediately turns Kageyama's head in his direction.

"Can you see anything-"

"No." He answered with a nod. So he only wants to talk to Hinata...?

"Just you." He answered again.

"Just him?" The doctor asked.

"..."

"Just me?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. But just as an orange blur." Kageyama answers. Yup. He only wants to talk to Hinata.

"What other colors can you see?" The doctor asked.

"..."

The doctor gives an irritating look at the blind boy, sighs, and turns his head to Hinata.

"What other colors can you see?" Hinata asks.

"Black." Kageyama answered faintly. "Pitch black."

"I see.." No, not really. The doctor didn't get it at all.

That's odd. Why can he only see Hinata? And how did he even get blind? The trauma to the head? No. The impact was not that intense and nothing hit his eyes....Maybe he got blind before hitting the ground. But how? Were there chemicals with them? No way...these are kids. Why would they even?....Well there's no harm in asking.

"Shouyou. Please ask your friend if he had any chemicals with him when the accident happened." The doctor asked the orange-haired boy. Confusingly. Hinata could easily tell tell he was uncertain of the condition of blindness Kageyama had.

"Kagey-"

"I don't even remember what happened."

...

"Eh?" Hinata responded with widened eyes.

"The trauma! The trauma to the head caused him to lose his memory of the accident!" The doctor stood up, and announced. Finally. Something he was certain of... But it does not answer how he got blind. He slouched back down in despair.

Hinata was dead silent for a brief moment.

So he doesn't remember anything? He doesn't even remember them racing at all? Or when he protected Hinata when he fe-

...Should I tell him..?

"Shouyou."

...But. It was my fault. He'll hate me. He'll never want to talk to me again.

"Do you remember"

No. I don't want that. 

"what happened during the accident?"

Lie.

"Shouyou?"

"NO I DON'T SIR!" Hinata screamed. He started shaking. His stool was making creaking noises with the shaking, which Kageyama heard.

"I'm really sorry for the pressure, Shouyou.." The doctor brought his voice down a bit to calm him down. He wanted to ask a follow up question like why Hinata doesn't remember the accident despite not having a head injury like his friend did, but these kids have gone through enough. Besides, maybe his memory loss was like Kageyama's odd blindness. A-

"A Phenomenon..." The doctor said quietly. He gently grabs Kageyama's hands and holds them up. The only reaction Kageyama showed from this was a small twitch. Hinata was showing confusion.

"Tobio...I am really sorry..., but I cannot help you-"

Hinata bursted out of his chair. "WHAT?!

"-Yet. I can't determine what sort of blindness this is. I have never seen this before. And I cannot be certain if we will ever find a cure, but we will not give up on trying."

No reaction.

"If there's anything you need, we will gladly help you. No charge."

Still no reaction.

"..I'll leave you two be." The doctor placed Kageyama's hands where they once were and headed for the door. "Would you like me to call your mother to come pick you up and explain to her about your situation, Tobio?"

Finally, he spoke.

"She won't answer."

"Why wouldn't she?" Hinata asked. "It's none of your business." Kageyama answered.

"What about your father?" The doctor asked.

"He is working overseas. He's not reachable." Kageyama answered. 

How was he gonna get home..? He can't see. What about his parents? What would they think when they come back and see their son like this?

"I know where he lives. I can take care of him until his mom comes back." Hinata chimed in. Kageyama for some reason clenched his his teeth at this.

"Fantastic. Well then, wish you luck!" Just like that, the doctor left.

And it was quiet again.

So nothing new was said... Hinata was staring at Kageyama as usual. Devastated. His partner seemed to have lost all hope. He can't even imagine how much stress and pain Kageyama must be going through right now. He used to have an attitude. He used to be competitive. He used to be scary. He used to be volleyball prodigy that everyone knew about. He used to have so much energy.

Now he looks emotionless. Tears are falling down his face. He looks like he doesn't want to strive for anything anymore. He's not scary, now he's helpless. What about volleyball..? Can he

still play..? 

That's probably what he is thinking about. Kageyama? Not being able to play volleyball..? That is barely imaginable. 

"Hey. Let's go home.." Hinata didn't know what else to say. He stood up and helped his friend off his stool, and through the hall. That wasn't easy. Kageyama still needed assistance with walking. He still had his leg and arm and back injuries. His whole weight was lumped over his small partner and it was getting more and more difficult to bring him to the exit by each step.

"Uuuugh, you're way too heavy, stupid Fattyyama!" 

"Shut up. You're too weak." Kageyama was clearly trying to do some of the heavy lifting, but the pain he was feeling simply would not allow it. He hated being a more of burden than how he already saw himself being. 

Let me do at least one thing by myself again...

This sucks...This really sucks.

Kageyama then noticed that they've stopped moving. Were they already at the exit? He heard Hinata let out a gasp.

Standing in front of them was a nurse.  
Dark skinned, curly hair tied in a ponytail, hazelnut-brown eyes, glasses. She had an empty wheelchair with her with a smile on her face.

"IT'S THE PRETTY NURSE!" Hinata screamed, pointing right at her.

The pretty nurse? All attention from the other doctors in the hall turned to them. Ana was full-on flustered.

"I-uh! I wanted to give Tobio this wheelchair to help get him to the front desk! I have requested something there to give to him." Ana rolled the wheelchair towards the struggling boys. Now Kageyama wasn't relieved like Hinata was. He was angrier.

Damnit. They had to get me a wheelchair. How much more of a useless burden can I be?

They were now rolling into the hospital lobby. And although Kageyama's sight was gone, he could still hear the people in the lobby...judging him.

"Aw, poor guy.."

No...

"His eyes. Is something wrong?"

Stop...

"He's so young.. That's really sad."

Please...

"Mommy! His eyes are funny! Is he ok?"

Please just stop..."

Hinata came back from the front desk with an odd object and placed it in Kageyama's hands. What was this?

"What is this..?" Kageyama's voice was very weak but he looked furious. He was far too occupied with the voices he was hearing.

"Oh. It's called a white cane. It's supposed to help you mov-"

The cane was thrown across the room.


	3. Chemistry

...

...

"KAGEYAMA WHAT THE HELL?!"

Kageyama's face was tight. His teeth were grinded together. Eyes were wide open. Fists were tightened. He was shaking. He looked as if he was crying, but there were only dry lines down his face. It was...as if he ran out of tears. 

Hinata ran to grab the cane, which was on the ground on the other end of the lobby. Luckily it didn't hit any of the people waiting, however they were in total shock. Kageyama's act made all attention focused on him. From commotion, to silence. The entire area was muted. 

The orange-haired boy ran back to Kageyama with the cane in his hand. The people were watching. Kageyama could feel it. And he didn't like it one bit.

"Why won't you let us help you?" Hinata asked him. There was a short pause

"Because I don't need to be helped." No. Kageyama didn't want to be helped. Or wait. Maybe he did? Didn't?...His mind was all over the place. He just didn't want to feel lower than he already felt. Even though all he could see was an orange blur in a black space, he did not want to believe he was blind. He didn't want any of this to be real. He wanted this to be a long nightmare...One of the worst nightmares he ever had.

Hinata didn't want to say anything to him at this moment. He wanted to leave the hospital and take his friend home and comfort him. So he quickly said goodbye to everyone and left with the white cane in one hand, and the other steering Kageyama's wheelchair...Usually patients weren't allowed to take the wheelchairs home, but...No one wanted to mess with Tobio. He's put up with enough.

\----

It was evening and the sky had an orange glow surrounded by clouds. Hinata knew the area very well and somehow sensed that Kageyama did not want to feel people judging him, so he picked walkways that weren't all that packed and were usually calm and quiet. They did not talk to each other for quite a while. As soon as Kageyama seemed calmer, the silence broke.

"Hey! Are you hungry?" Hinata said with a happy voice. He was clearly trying to get Kageyama's mind off of the things from today. Like that would work though.

"No." Kageyama answered directly.  
"Areeee youuuu...thirsty?"  
"No."  
"Are you sleepy?"  
"No"  
"Are you happy?"  
"No."  
"Are you smart?"  
"No-" He flinched.

"Hahaha. Got ya, Bakageyama." Hinata grinned. Well, Kageyama knew he did.

"...Shut up and just take me home, please." Kageyama voice was slowly going back to his normal tone. He was getting a bit more relaxed.

Did he just say please?

Doesn't matter. Hinata wasn't in content with the awkward silence. He needed noise. 

What to say what to say what to say.. Volleyball? No no no. That'll make him emotional. The team-No, that's still volleyball. School? No, neither of us even pay attention to what goes on there. Future ambitions? No, still volleyball. Nationals-no, volleyball... 

...

"When's your mom back from work? I wanna meet her!"

Nice one, Hinata!

"She's never coming back."  
...eh?

"Why??" Hinata stopped moving the wheelchair.

"Are we at my place?"  
"Nope."  
"Then keep moving."  
"I won't move until you answer me."  
"It's none of your business"  
"Why not-"  
"Because I don't wanna tell you!"  
"Why!"  
"BECAUSE YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Hinata jumped. Kageyama moved his head downwards facing the ground. 

"What makes you think I won't understand?"  
"I don't want to talk about this. Let it go." Kageyama was getting gloomy again. Hinata stopped with the questions in order to prevent more stress..

But he still wasn't planning on letting it go. 

\-----

\-----

\-----

It was silent. Still black, but the atmosphere was different from before. 

He was not sitting anymore. It felt more like he was laid down. He also felt pretty cozy...blankets? Ok. He's in bed. He must've been asleep.

He couldn't see his own bed.

Was he in his room? He slowly got up, felt the pain coming back to his body, and started feeling around. Some things felt familiar..Yeah. This was his room.

He couldn't see his own room.

He felt his desk. There were still papers and books scattered around it. Homework maybe?

He couldn't see his own desk.

He felt the chair. 

He couldn't see his own chair.

And then, as he continued to walk around, he felt one of his dumbbells on the ground...with his foot.

And he slipped.

Kageyama fell right on his back with a loud thud that triggered the voice of the boy who brought him home.

"Hey! Are you ok!?" The footsteps of the orange blur could be heard-for quite a while actually before arriving to the room. It seems like he came from the living room. What was he doing there? 

Kageyama let out a groan, trying to push himself up with his arms, but his arm injuries made him fall back to the ground. Hinata rushed to help him up.

"Shit." Kageyama groaned again.  
"Don't say that!" Hinata retorted. 

"What the hell were you doing in my living room?" Kageyama's question surprised Hinata.

"GAH! H-How did you know?!"   
"Your footsteps. The living room is the furthest away from my room. What were you doing there?"  
"Nothing!"  
"Bullshit."  
"Stop swearing! I-I was only walking around, waiting for you to wake up!"

"Well now I'm awake, so don't think about going in there anymore." Kageyama looked pretty serious. 

His hand was placed over his eyes and he let out a sigh. Then he started rubbing them. Then tapping them. His breaths were shaken. "I've never been this pissed off.." 

Hinata became devastated again. Being positive has never been this difficult. His friend can't see anymore and no one knows how he'll ever see again. He can't do what he loves anymore. He can't challenge him anymore.

How will he confront the team? Oh no.. How will he confront the team? And school? And his parents-

Oh wait.

"Kageyama." Hinata was quiet.

Kageyama stopped what he was doing and looked up to the only color he saw.

"What."  
"When I was in the living room, I didn't see any photos of you or your parent-"

"You're not gonna let that go, are you."

"No! It's weird!" The orange blur got closer to his face.

"Your mom never came back from where ever she was! It's morning now! And why is your dad abroad? No one even called to check if you're ok! I searched all over the apartment for pictures or ways to contact them. I found nothing!"

"YOU SNOOPED THROUGH MY ENTIRE APARTMENT?!" Kageyama yelled.

"Do you hate your parents?!"  
"NO."  
"Then tell me why! You need comfort from your family! They have to know-"

Hinata was violently pushed away. 

Kageyama starting sobbing. He knew Hinata would never go without an answer. He didn't want to combine the pain he was feeling from his blindness with the memories of his parents. But it looked like he had no choice..

".......Go to my bed. Lift the pillow." Kageyama ordered Hinata, who slowy got up to do what was asked.

He climbed onto Kageyama's bed and grabbed the pillow gently. Underneath it was a photo. A photo of an adorable little boy who looked ridiculously happy. Was that....Kageyama? No way. His expression didn't look like what he would make. 

"The kid in this photo. Is it you?" Hinata asked Kageyama, who was still sobbing under his breath.

"Yes." Kageyama answered.

Hinata, completely confused, continued to examine the photo. Little Kageyama was snuggling himself tightly to a beautiful lady with straight black hair and blue eyes. She was wearing an apron. The facial resemblance was uncanny. No doubt.

"Whoa! Your mom is really pretty!" Hinata exclaimed.

Kageyama's sobs turned to silent crying. Tears were falling. Whoa wait why was he crying?

There was another figure in the picture, but it was scribbled with marker. Maybe the dad? This was odd.

"What happened to them...?" Hinata was very curious.

Kageyama's cries became audible. The orange blur was visible again.

"Please tell me...I won't make any stupid comments." Hinata's hand was placed on Kageyama's shoulder. He could tell by the sound of Hinata's voice that he was concerned.

"I really liked my mom. She liked me too." Kageyama's voice was once again quiet.

"We were always together and she always knew how to make me smile. I was never really sad. I never had any problems or fights with her. We were both happy until I turned 10."

"What happened when you were 10-"  
"She died."  
...  
...

Hinata's eyes widened. He started to shiver. Suddenly he felt empty. He felt heavy. So heavy that it was hard to lift up his head. 

"....How did she die?" He asked, despite having difficulties to speak.

"Leukemia. She got sick...and died in the hospital and my dad wouldn't let me in during her last moments."

Kageyama's voice cracked, then got louder.

"I hate him. I freaking HATE HIM. He never even loved my mother! He broke her heart thousands of times, and he was the last thing she saw! I couldn't see her! I wanted her to tell me one last time that she loved me and that bastard took that away from me!! All because I told my mother that he was cheating this whole time! He didn't care that she was sick!"

So that's why the dad was scribbled in the photo...Hinata's face tightened. He triggered a horrible memory. The guilt was sinking in. Deeper and deeper. Kageyama was in total despair, screaming and crying.

"Every night before I go to bed, I look at that photo.

Now...

I CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT ANYMORE!!" 

That was it. That hit Hinata like a ton of rocks. First his family, now his sight. That photo seemed to be the only piece he had left of his mother. The only thing that helped him find peace. And now he can't look at that.

"I've lost someone dear to me and no one will ever understand.." Kageyama's head sank down once more. "There. Now you know."

"Well, actually I kinda understand." Hinata said, and their eyes met again. 

What?

"Huh..?" 

Hinata grabbed the wallet in his own bag, which was by Kageyama's desk. Kageyama had no idea what was going on. He did not recognize the rustling sounds he was hearing. What was that blur doing?

Hinata opened the wallet, and pulled out a photo. Now it was his family photo. He began to describe the contents of the photo to the blind boy.

"I took out a photo of my family from  of my wallet." He explained.  
"In the photo, there's me as a kid, my sister as a baby, my mom, who is holding my litte sister in her arms, and my dad was holding my hand. 

You would think I'm lying, but I was actually very shy and quiet when I was little. It even shows in this photo. My dad worked in the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, which I thought was so cool. I wanted to be like him so badly. He was like how I am now and often tried to get me to do fun things with him and get me to open up more. 

Everyone knew him, loved and respected him. And he always loved them back. Us and my mom especially...They loved each other so much...I...I miss seeing my mom so happy..." 

Kageyama froze. 

"..We were at the airport preparing for a trip...There was a shooting that broke out and just before the gunman was fully pinned down by security, he pointed his gun towards me and my sister and used his last bullet...

My dad shielded us. 

Before he died...He cuffed my cheek...smiled at me, and said that everything'll be ok."

...

Now the same feeling Hinata had before was slammed towards Kageyama. His entire body was stiff. Yes. Hinata really did understand. No joke.

"So yeah. I sorta understand how you feel..." The orange blur grabbed Kageyama into a gentle hug.

"And I'm so sorry that you can't look at your mom anymore. I don't think you deserve any of this pain...but please don't give up because of it...

It'll be ok. I promise. Let me help you."

....

Before Kageyama could say ok, knocks from the apartment door made both the boys jump.

"Who is that???" Hinata whispered.

Kageyama stood up and answered him.

"Probably my dad."


	4. Chapter 4

The knocks were heard a second time. 

"Kageyama..Should I get the door..?" Hinata asked as he got up as well.

Kageyama's expression was totally blank. Hinata could tell by the vibe he was giving off that he did not want to confront his father about his blindness. Judging by what he heard from Kageyama, they don't have a good relationship with each other at all. He really did not want Kageyama putting up with more stress in trying to explain how this happened to him. Hell, he doesn't even know what happened.

But you do know, do you?

A third set of knocks forced Hinata snap back to his senses and proceed to the door.  "I'll explain it to him. Don't worry!" He said. Kageyama wanted to say no but stopped midway.

 

He heard the sound of the door opening. His heart was beating like crazy. His ears were ringing. How will he explain? What will be the outcome? How will he react? How will he-

He heard a woman's voice.

"Ah! Hello there! Ummm is Tobio home?" Kageyama heard the woman's voice and tried to identify who it was. Maybe a neighbor.

"Um..uh..H-He-" Hinata was obviously clueless on how to answer according to Kageyama's ears. He couldn't say he wasn't home. Then how would Hinata have come in? That won't work.

Please don't say I'm not home. Please don't say I'm not home. Please don't say I'm not home. Please don't say I'm not-

"He's taking a bath!" Hinata answered the lady.

....A "bath"??

"Oh I see!" The lady said. "So, are you his friend? What's your name?"

"Yes. Yes I am his friend. My name is Hinata Shouyou!" Hinata answered in a stiff position like a soldier. He wasn't good at acting, let alone lying...The woman didn't seem suspicious of him however. Because this is the first time she's seen Hinata, she thought that was simply how he was.

"Well when he's done with his bath, please tell him that his father went on vacation with his girlfriend and won't be back for 3 months. Because there's no adult to look after him, I thought I'd take care of him until then!" 

Oh shit.

Kageyama was freaking out once more. Sure he was relieved the second he heard his dad wouldn't be around for a while, but he did not want some women to take care of him for this long. He can't even see her either. He'd rather be with Hinata. No doubt.

C'mon Dumbass, don't let her do that.

"NO!" Hinata's loud interruption startled the lady. 

"I-I can take care of him!"   
"What?! No you cannot! You're a child! He needs an adult!"  
"My mom is an adult! He knows her!"

No, I don't?

"He knows me too!"

No, I don't??

"Please ma'am! Let him stay by me!" Hinata immediately went to his knees, begging. The lady was in total shock, arms lifted. She had no idea what to say. A kid was begging on his knees in front of her. She was not prepared at all.

"N-N-NO NEED TO BEG! GET BACK UP!" This was far too awkward for her...Hinata did as instructed and starred at her with big eyes.

"Fine. He can stay with you and your mother." 

"YES! THANK YOU!" Hinata jumped with joy, almost hitting his head. 

And slammed the door. Before the lady could even say anything.

"Kageyamaaaa! Guess what!!" Hinata ran over to the blind boy who was sitting right in front of his room door. He looked up at the orange blur. Angrily. 

"I know. I heard everything" Kageyama said.

"Hehe! Yeah you can stay with me and my mo-OH CRAP I GOTTA CALL MY MOM!" The sudden realization made Hinata frantically search for his phone until he found it in his bag. He didn't even look at his phone this entire time.

He flipped it open and screamed in horror.

"150 MESSAGES?!" He was dead. With each message his mom sounded angrier. It even got to the point of his younger sister, Natsu using his mom's phone:

Shouyou are you ok? Where are you?

Why aren't you answering me.

Hello?

SHOUYOU ARE YOU IGNORING ME!?

SHOUYOU I WANT YOU HOME RIGHT NOT!!!

*Now

IF YOU'RE NOT HOME IN 30 MIN YOU ARE GROUNDED!!!!!!!

Shouyou thsi is Natsu momy is reely reelys mad shi is seying alot of bad wrds she ses shi will kik ur bad wrd for but if u dont com hom now

"I am going to die." Hinata waited for his mom to answer the phone while praying. Kageyama was sitting back, watching, amused.

"Hi mom! How are ya?....um......uhhh...ok mom slow down lemme explain...MOM! Ok ok ok. Me and Kageya-LISTEN! Me and Kageyama got hurt and we had to go to the hospital.....I-I don't know what happened. We both forgot....Yeah it was that bad....Yes I'm fine but..Kageyama's not...It's difficult to explain over the phone mom...Can I bring him? He's hurt and he doesn't have anyone else to take care of him...Please mom.....YES THANK YOU! Ok ok! I'll explain everything when we're there. Bye!" And he hung up.

"We're going to my place!" Hinata said happily, then noticed Kageyama's angry face.

"Why are you mad? Or..madder?" 

"A BATH? REALLY?" ....Bath? Oh! The conversation with that lady...Kageyama was yelling, which actually made Hinata pretty happy. His friend's voice was miserable and hurt before, but it was becoming more like his normal voice. Sure he was yelling. But it wasn't out of pain. Just embarrassment. But, what about the bath?

"What's wrong with taking a bath? You don't bathe?! Ew!!" Hinata said jokingly.

"No, Stupid! I take a shower! There's no tub in my apartment! Something you should've found out by now from snooping through my place!!"

"I was not snooping... I was investigating." Hinata proudly said.

"Oh and speaking of showers" He covered his nose. "You smell like shit-No! Poop!" 

"Pft. And?" Kageyama stood up and was right in front of the little blur, bringing the stench closer to it's nose.

"I'm not taking you to my place when you stink! My mom will get even more mad!" 

"Fine. Fair enough..I'll go shower the-" Kageyama took one step and suddenly realized something. And so did Hinata....

Silence fell.

.....  
.....

"Hey. Hinata."

"Yeah..?"

"I can't see anything. How can I take a shower..?"

"......Um....."

"..."

"...Well I can Hel-"

"Hell no."

Kageyama began to realize that being blind came with more consequences than he thought. He was going to need a functioning pair of eyes for basic things like this...And those had to be...Hinata's. But don't blind people do just fine on their own? Oh wait. They've been blind for a while and have experience. How long has Kageyama been blind?....No idea. One things for sure. Not long enough to know how to take a simple shower without seeing anything. He needed help.

"Kageyama. Th..There's only one way to do this." He. Was. Red. "I'll get your clothes and towel ready-"

"I'M NOT NO NO SCREW THAT PISS OFF!" 

"Stop being shy! I've seen you naked when we bathed together in training camp!!" Hinata squeaked. The neighbors probably heard that.

"THAT WAS DIFFERENT! MY BOTTOM HALF WAS ALWAYS COVERED!!"

"Who cares! We have the same parts! We're both guys!"

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE IT!"

"I'm sure it ain't all that special!!" 

Damn.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TOUCHING ME THERE!"

"I won't touch your weener!"

".....MY WHAT???!!!!"

...

Oh god.

 

Kageyama was just standing there with his mouth half open and an astonished expression. He couldn't believe what he just heard..That word. Did Hinata really say that word?

"You're wee-" "Don't say it. Please." Kageyama interrupted. He was out of breath from all the yelling. He had no choice.

"Fine. Be my eyes."  
He said softly.

\-------------------------

Warm, soothing water was pounding lightly on Kageyama's skin, flowing all over his body, giving him a sensation of relief and calmness. He felt good. Really good. 

Hinata was behind him getting the soap ready. He lightly began stroking Kageyama's hair with soapy hands. The sudden touch brought a chill to Kageyama's body. His breaths became more and more broken up as Hinata lathered further down. Now that all he saw was complete darkness, he became obviously more sensitive to touches. 

After a while, he began to get used to the feelings he was getting and started sinking in his thoughts. The darkness brought back the memories of the wonderful things he was going to miss...

The colors...The skies, the trees, his apartment, his school, his way home, volleyball, the photo of his mother, the friends he finally had...

...Hinata.

Even though he was with him, Kageyama still felt like he wasn't there.  
Even though he's only lost his sight recently, it already felt like an eternity. It was already like a prison.

He wanted to see again. He really wanted to see again.

The tears from his face blended in with the water from the shower.

Once he was finally cleaned and fully dressed, Hinata moved him over to his bed. He moved him enough so that he sat in the middle of his bed, able to move himself around freely without the danger of falling off. Neither of them said a word since the shower mainly to avoid the situation being more awkward than it was.

The silence broke when Kageyama spoke.

"Hinata. Sit in front of me." He asked. 

Hinata sat in front of him so that they were face to face. Kageyama was starring at the orange blur. Hinata was starring at the milky white eyes. Longer than the times before.

Both of them were looking at something they didn't want to believe.

"Sorry... It's... It's just that.." Kageyama began tearing up again, this time including Hinata.

"It's just that...Y'know. Whenever you're not in front of me..and you don't talk....It's like...It's like you're not there. Like I'm alone. Like you left me in the dark..."

Kageyama's face tightened as the tears spilled down his face and into his bed covers. The incredible pain and loneliness he was feeling could be both heard and felt. Hinata was heartbroken. This was too much. Kageyama didn't deserve this. He did nothing wrong. Suddenly this happens to him.

And it's all your fault.

The little blur brought the blind boy into a tight embrace.

"Kageyama..I will never leave you. Never ever ever. I will always be with you." He whispered as he buried his face on Kageyama's neck. 

"I'm so sorry this happened to you.

You will be able to see again.

I promise."


	5. Peace And Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention that this story takes place when Hinata and Kageyama are 2nd years:) Just an FYI.

________________________________________________  
__________

"I just called my mom-She's gonna pick us up with the car. She'll be here in about 30 minutes."

Hinata was packing as much of Kageyamas clothes as he could in a big orange suitcase. At first he was pretty happy to have found another orange item, because he thought Kageyama would be able to see it, because up until now, he was able to see a blurry version of Hinata's orange hair.

But oddly, he couldn't see the suitcase at all. Which was strange...

While Hinata was packing, Kageyama was sitting on the bed, looking down with a straight face. The same lifeless expression.

The only 3 expressions Kageyama's made up till now have been anger, lifelessness and sadness. Hinata never saw him cry before, but today he already had seen him cry enough.

It's understandable though. He started going through the perhaps worst moment of his entire life. Hinata wasn't expecting him to return to his normal personality anytime soon. But it hurt him to see his friend suffer to this degree. I really didn't like seeing him like this.

Hinata continued looking through Kageyama's drawers and grabbing as much clothing as he could fit in the suitcase.

Until his pants fell to the ground.

Well, technically they weren't actually his pants. They were Kageyama's. He didn't have a clean spare of clothes with him to change into after taking a shower, so he snagged Kageyama's, somehow thinking they would fit him. But they were way too big for the short boy, who was shocked as he scrambled to pull the pants back up.

His short gasp brought Kageyama's attention towards his direction. What just happened..?

"GEH! D-d-don't look at me!!" Hinata yelled, covering his lower area as the blind boy stared at him.

"I can't even see you. I'm blind, remember...All I see is black and orange." Kageyama's words brought the orange-haired boy back to realization.

"....Oh yeah. Sorry." Hinata felt pretty bad.

"Idiot."

"Do you have a belt I can borrow?" Hinata asked, snooping around the room.

"Why?"  
"I'm borrowing your pants and they keep falling."

Kageyama widened his eyes a bit before answering. Some red was visible on his face. He instantly faced back down to the ground. "...In the closet. A maroon one...I think."

Hinata walked over to the closet and slid the closet doors open to immediately see a maroon belt hung over the hanger rack. He reached up to grab it and placed it around his waist and strapped it. He felt much better now. 

He then walked over to the bed to sit next to a silent Kageyama, waiting for his mom to arrive. 

"It's dark outside. Finally." Hinata began to break the long silence and speak. This day felt like the longest he's ever been through. As if this day would never end. And now it was. Thank goodness.

It became quiet again.

 

And Kageyama appeared to be suffering from his thoughts again. Hinata could tell by the small movements of his mouth. Like he was biting his lip.

...

"....Hey, Kageyama." Hinata lowered his head for the boy's eyes to kinda see him.

Kageyama slowly turned his head to the blur.

"We'll get through this." Hinata said, nodding with determination.

Kageyama just stared.

"What do you mean we? You're not the blind on-"

"I'm going to be your eyes now!" Hinata stopped Kageyama in his words. He tapped his own chest with his hand.

"I will help you get through this. You don't need to worry about anything. Trust me." 

Hinata gently placed his hand on Kageyama's shoulder, startling him and causing him to release a short amount of shaken breathes.

"You're going to be ok.

I'm here."

There was complete silence for a couple seconds. 

Kageyama's face slowly began tightening. His expression changed from surprised, to sad once more.

"Shit." 

"What's up?" Hinata asked.

"I...I already mi-"

The ring of the doorbell echoed through the apartment. Hinata bounced off the bed and bolted to the entrance door. Before opening it, he looked through the peek hole to check who it was. He then expressed a wide smile. 

"My mom's here!" Hinata announced happily. Kageyama lifted his head to face the direction of the noise and began getting up, automatically stumbling towards the voice, despite not seeing anything. It's like his mind was on autopilot. He couldn't see the way, but he remembered it.

Hinata opened the door and welcomed his mom in with a big hug.

"Mom! I'm so glad you're here!" He was bouncing around like a jolly baby rabbit.

"Ok! Ok! Shouyou calm down! You're making me dizzy!" His mom made him stop jumping. Now he was standing with a smile in his face.

"Where's your friend?" Hinata's mom walked into the apartment entrance, looking around.

"Ah! Kageyama's over he-"

*CRASH*

A loud thud echoed through the halls. Both Hinata and his mother ran over to Kageyama's room to find him face flat on the ground with books and papers that were once on his desk. He let out a painful groan.

"Hey! What're you doing?!" Hinata quickly went by his side to help him get up. The mother had her hand over her mouth.

"I thought I would find the door." Kageyama exclaimed. 

As he sat up, he lifted up his head high enough for Hinata's mother to see his milky white eyes. She moved her hand away from her mouth and was in total shock. She began to have assumptions. Assumptions that were answered immediately when she noticed that Kageyama was facing her, but he wasn't looking at her. It looked more as if he wasn't looking at anything.

"Shouyou. What happened to him..? She asked. Kageyama's frown intensified. Hinata answered.

"Mom. Me and Kageyama got in an accident and Kageyama became blin-"  
"What accident?!"  
"We don't know. We don't remember."  
"How do you not remember?!"  
"I don't know. I don't remember anything."  
"Shouyou I see your face! Are you lying to me?!"  
"No."  
"Shouyou!!"  
"I'm not lying!"

The discussion between the two began to irritate Kageyama by each sound he heard. This was too much. This noise combined with the thoughts in his head. This was just too much. He slowly placed his hands over his ears. The voices turned into quiet muffles that were getting more and more blocked out thanks to his mind. This felt better.. At this point he felt more at peace in the darkness without noise than with. He wasn't thinking anymore, somehow managing to put a halt to his thinking spree at this very moment. This actually felt great. 

Then.

A female voice calling his name brought the noise right back. As with his haunting thoughts.

"Oh my gosh Kageyama. I'm so so sorry this happened to you..." 

Hinata's mother crouched down to him and lowered his hands away from his ears, his expression still blank. Though he could tell by the tone of her voice that she did in fact have grief for him.

"I can't even imagine the amount of stress you're going through right now." She cuffed his cheek. "Sorry for yelling. I got worried."

"It's fine." Kageyama's voice was barely coherent. He was back in his overthinking phase. The anxiety. The fear. The torment.

When will this darkness ever go away? How much longer? When will I be able to see again? How will I be able to do anything. What about my team? How will I go through life now? I miss the colors. I miss shapes. I miss food. I miss my friends. I miss the night sky and the moon. I miss the daylight and the sun. I miss

I miss...

"Hey....Are you hungry..?" Hinata's mom asked calmly. Kageyama started to feel as if salt went up his nose. The thoughts didn't stop.

"I'm making pork curry for dinner once we get home. You like that?"

It got more salty. Tears took form. Again.

"Did Shouyou pack your stuff?"

Sobs were coming out. He closed his tear-filled eyes. Not again.

"Let it out. Let it all out. It's ok."

shit.

....

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Kageyama started screaming at the top of his lungs. Tears were dripping down his face. Fists were slamming the floor. Screams that were so loud and painful that it caused passersby outside to stop what they were doing. Kageyama's suffering aura was felt by anyone around him.

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!!!!!"

Hinata was standing, completely dejected from the sight of Kageyama crying yet again. Turned out this was something that he would not get used to anytime soon. His guilt was getting stronger. He knew the truth...but didn't have the courage to tell his friend in the fear of losing him.

Within minutes, the screams turned to sobs. The sobs turned to coughs. The coughs turned to breaths.

"Feeling better?" Hinata's mom was rubbing his back in tiny circles.

He actually did feel better. The thoughts were drifting away. Even though all he saw was pitch black darkness, he was brought back into the moment he was in. He felt calmed. 

"Yeah." His voice was slightly cracked. Guess he screamed pretty loud earlier.

\----------------------------------  
\----------------------  
\-------------

Kageyama slept through the entire car ride like a baby, only to be woken up by Hinata half an hour later.

"Kageyama! We're here! Wake up!" The orange blur shook Kageyama, who was in the front seat of the car. 

Kageyama slapped him.

"HEY! Don't hit me! Get up! Mom's already inside and it's cold out here!" Hinata tried to wrestle his friend out of the car.

"Shut up, dumbass! Let me sleep or I'll punch you!"

"It's barely 6pm!" 

"Still dark enough for me!"

"You can't sleep now! You'll get jet lagged!"

"What?! I'm in a car, not a jet!"

"Shouyou! Mommy says dinners almost ready!" Natsu appeared from the front door of the house.

"..."  
"..."  
"Ok. I'm up." Kageyama pushed Hinata away and got up from the seat...  
...and fell out of the car. Hinata was laughing.

"Stop laughing!" He picked himself up. "Take me to your house."

Hinata took him into his house and the atmosphere for him changed drastically. It felt nice and welcoming. The room temperature was perfect. He wasn't hitting anything while being guided by the blur. The smell of delicious pork curry got stronger by each step.

Tiny footsteps ran over to him. He stopped along with Hinata. Hinata's little sister? What was her name again...?

"Shouyou? Is that the guy you're always talking about? The super amazing one?" Natsu was looking up at Kageyama, completely hypnotized by his eyes.

Super amazing one?

"Yeah! Natsu-This is Kageyama. Kageyama-Natsu." Hinata introduced them to each other. Kageyama was still looking up ahead though.

"Kageyamaaaa~ I'm down here!" Kageyama heard the tiny voice and immediately looked down on where he thought Natsu was. 

"Hello. Nice to meet you." He said politely.

"Kageyama can't see anything right now. We need to help him with stuff until he sees again!" Hinata informed his little sister. Her eyes got bigger and she looked amazed.

"Whoaaa so cool!"

Cool? 

"Dinner's ready! Shouyou! Come help me set the table!" His mother was yelling from the kitchen.

"Sorry mom~ I have to be with Kageyama!" The sound of Hinata's voice was chimey. As if he was proud to have an excuse not to do chores.

Or so he thought.

"Your friend can help too! You can guide him! His mother yelled again.

Hinata let out a long and obvious groan as he walked Kageyama over to the kitchen, who wasn't all that disappointed in doing a chore like this.

In fact, for some reason he couldn't wait to do it. Such a family oriented duty was something he hadn't done in a long time. He forgot what it felt like.

Both Hinata's mom and Hinata himself were both setting the table and helping Kageyama set it. He was giving off a satisfying vibe that Hinata's mother immediately felt.

"So you like setting the table, huh?" She said smiling.

"Yeah I guess." Kageyama answered, hands being guided by the mother.

\----------------------------  
\---------------

 

"WOW! That was great curry, right?!" Hinata plopped on his bed in his room, patting his stomach.

"Yeah." Kageyama was laying down sideways on the futon new to Hinata's bed that was brought by Natsu and the mom. The fullness of his stomach made him tired. And now it was the perfect time to sleep; 9:30pm.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Kageyama saw the orange blur move around the room.

"Here!" He gave him something that felt like..a square paper? A photo maybe?

"What's this?" Kageyama asked confusingly."

"It's your mom!"

...

Kageyama let out a short gasp. It was kinda like a quick breath.

"I brought it with me. I thought you'd want to have it with you."

"....Thanks." Kageyama said, feeling the photo.

"You're welcome~"   
Hinata got back on his bed.

"Tomorrow's Sunday! We don't have school, so I'm gonna train you to be more independent without seeing! The whole day! You can try to toss to me to-"

"I can't." Kageyama intervened. "I can't see."

Hinata grabbed one of his volleyballs and glanced over to Kageyama. He slapped the ball with one hand to make noises.

"But you can hear." He placed the volleyball between Kageyama's hands. "And you can feel."

Kageyama was silent.

The orange blur laid down on his bed and let out a big yawn.

"Say..Before we go to bed. Can I ask you one more thing?" Hinata asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hm?" Kageyama's eyes were only half open.

"Back at your place, before my mom arrived, you said you already missed something. You never told me what it was."

"It's nothing. Doesn't matter anymore."  
"Yes it does! Tell me!"  
"No."  
"Yes."  
"No."  
"Yes!"  
"No!"  
"YES!"  
"NO!"  
"C'mon Kageyama! Tell me please!"

Kageyama let out a sigh. He knew Hinata would never let something like that go.

"You." He said.

"Huh?"

"You. I already miss you."

.....

"But I'm here!" The small boy stretched out his arm to lightly shake the blind boy's shoulder. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!"

"I know. But it feels like you're not." Kageyama sat up. The thoughts were haunting him again. "I can't even see your face anymore."

Hinata got off his bed and sat down on the futon right in front of Kageyama so that they were close and face to face. He then grabbed Kageyama's right hand and placed it on his cheek. 

"Feel around my face. Maybe that'll help."

Kageyama did as instructed, feeling around with his trembling hand, starting with the cheeks, tiny lips, small nose, big eyes, eyebrows, hair, ears...

Hinata's face was becoming more and more visualized in Kageyama's mind with each feature he touched.

Until he felt a tingle at his forehead...Like something was closing in on him.

His fingers streamed through the back of the blurs head...

As he felt the same tiny lips he felt moments ago...

Gently pressing onto his.

Was...was this a kiss..?

Just like that, Kageyama's mind was fully shut down. It was like the world stopped. Like he was at complete peace. Whatever was happening, he didn't care. He. Was. Off.

Both boys eyes were closed. They stayed in the position they were in for a while.

Until they stopped...and realized what they just did.

They were back on again. Now it was awkward.

"......"

"......."

"............"

"................"

"GOOD NIGHT!"  
"GOOD NIGHT!"


	6. Chapter 6

Rays of light from the rising sun outside shined through the sliding glass doors of Hinata's room. They were shining right on Kageyama's opened eyes, which he didn't feel at first, later on he did, and had no idea what it was, but didn't care. It just hurt. He covered his face with his blanket. 

He had no idea whether he slept throughout the entire night or not....Or if it was morning to begin with. He was so occupied in his mind that he didn't even know when or if he stopped thinking. Time went by pretty fast. He wasn't really tired, so maybe he did sleep.

Ok, now he stopped not caring. What exactly caused his eyes to burn? Maybe he didn't sleep and kept his eyes open. Did he even blink? 

What time was it now?

"Hinata..?" Kageyama faintly called out to the blur that he couldn't see in his line of vision, hoping for an answer.

No answer. He was still asleep.

"Hey.." He stretched out and lifted his left arm and swept it across Hinata's matress, touching what he thought-no-he knew was Hinata's face.

Then...he remembered something.

The moment from earlier finally surfaced.

That awkward moment when he felt around his friend's face.

He wasn't really sure if it was what he thought it was that happened. Maybe he can ask him that as well.

"Ngh.." Hinata quietly muffled through Kageyama's hand.

"Are you awake?" Kageyama asked, his face facing the roof.

"...I am now." Hinata answered. He moved Kageyama's hand away and sat up on his bed, stretching his arms and legs.

"What time is it?" The blind boy asked. The orange blur glanced at the green clock on his desk.

"7 am" Hinata answered. "How'd you sleep?"

"I don't know. Don't really know if I slept." Kageyama also sat up.

"So..Hinata."

"Yeah?"

"What did you do to me last night?"

................  
.....................

"Eh?" Hinata twitched.

"You did something to my lips last night. What was it?" Kageyama asked.

"Did what?"  
"You know what."  
"No I don't!!"  
"Don't play dumb with me! You voice is so obvious! You're lying to me!"  
"I'M NO-......" 

Hinata let out a sigh. "Fine."

.....

"I...I made you kiss a volleyball."  
"CUT THE CRAP!!" Kageyama screamed.

"Sssssh! Shut up! You'll wake up Natsu and mom! The orange blur warned.

"Tell me the truth or I'll get louder." The blind boy glared at the blur when he finally found him in his line of vision.

"Fiiiine...Under one condition."  
"What?"  
"You won't leave me."   
"I won't."

Hinata was covering his mouth with a tightened pillow. His entire face was red like a tomato.

"Mmmmfff...But I don't wanna tell you." He pouted.

"Then I'll hate you if you don't!" Kageyama's voice was half a whisper, half a yell.

"You already hate me!"  
"I'll hate you more!"  
"No! Don't wanna!"  
"Hinata!"

Just like Hinata yesterday, Kageyama wasn't giving up anytime soon.

"......Fine." Hinata pressed his face further into the pillow.

"Ifindafisshoo." 

"What?" Kageyama didn't understand a thing.

"Ikimakisschoo."

"Huh?"

"Ikydakishedoo"

"SPEAK CLEARLY." Kageyama couldn't see the pillow, so he was confused as to why Hinata was so incoherent.

 

"I.. I kinda..I kinda...kissed you" Hinata was finally understood.

Kageyama's eyes got bigger. He didn't know how to respond to that. Did he just hear what he really heard..?

"What did you say?" Kageyama asked, trembling.

"I kissed you."   
"Why?!"  
"I don't know!"

It was silent for a while.

Hinata knew he was about to get his butt kicked by his embarrassed friend, awaiting an answer like "DUMBASS HINATA!!" Or "YOU'RE SO GROSS". His mind was going crazy. What was going to happen? 

"Can you.."

Can you leave me alone? Can you stop being disgusting? Can you-

"Can you do it again..?"

.....

......

.......

........

"EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH?????!" The orange blur could NOT believe what he just heard. Did he hear correctly what he just said?

Again? Again? What the hell was going on? Should he clarify?

"Y-y-you want me to kiss you again?!?! WHY?!?!"

"I liked it."

................................Did I already die..? 

"Kageyama....A-are you OK..?" Hinata shakily asked his blind friend, who was staring right at him with his milky eyes.

"Yes." He answered.

"Why did you like me kissing you???" Hinata asked again.

"Because when it happened, I was shut down. I stopped thinking. I stopped caring. I was at peace. 

But..It felt like something I've never felt before. And I liked it."

Hinata was dead silent. 

Kageyama wanted him to kiss him again because he felt peace..?

But then again, he said he never felt this type of peace before...Maybe it wasn't peace, but more like..

Lo-

No no no. That can't be.

"Kageyama..."  
"What."

 

"I can't kiss you again. Sorry.."  
"......Why not..?"  
"Because it's not normal."  
"How is it not normal?"

"We're guys!" Hinata got louder, clinging tightly to his pillow. "Guys don't kiss."

"But you kissed me." Kageyama kept the same blank expression.

"But I-I don't know.. It's just...Y'know....It just happened and...umm...because we're just friends and all..It's awkward."

Hinata slowly began putting his face back into the pillow. "And you don't even like me that much anyway, do you?"

"N-No-Yes! No-N-No? Ye-No." Kageyama's head drooped down. "Damn it. I don't know..This is so weird..."

"Then let's forget about it!" Hinata's face looked completely red. This conversation was far too awkward and confusing. Honestly it kinda made him uncomfortable at this point.

But Kageyama gave off a gloomy vibe. 

Crap.

"You don't want to forget about it, do you...?" Hinata could tell that his friend was not in content with his choice.

"No...Well...I-I..." The blind boy continued to stutter. His brain was scrambled.

"I just liked that kind of peace alot. I've never felt it before. During that split second, it was like I didn't care anymore about not seeing. My body felt warm. My thoughts and worries were completely gone. I don't know how to explain it. I just...wanted to feel it again."

His mouth was shaking, and one could hear his breaths.

"But yeah...Once you know what you did, its awkward."

.....

"Kageyama." 

"hm..?"

"You like me alot, don't you?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" 

Kageyama's voice was loud enough to echoe through the room. No way the others didn't hear that.

Hinata moved over to Kageyama's futon.

"Ok..if it helps you get through your situation, then I guess I can do it again..." He said with a straight face. His eyes drifted to the side. "No matter if you like me or not. As long as I'm helping you, It's fine by me.."

Both of them weren't thinking straight one bit. Their feelings, their emotions, everything was hazy. Neither of them had any idea what they wanted.

Hinata slowly closed his eyes and got clower to Kageyama's face. The blur was getting bigger. Hinata was thinking the same sentence over and over again as he closed in:

I'm helping him. I'm helping him. I'm helping him.

Closer.

I'm helping him. I'm helping him. I'm helping him.

And closer.

I'm helping him. I'm helping him. I'm helping him.

And closer...

I'm helping him. I'm helping him. I'm-

 

WHAM

 

The door swung open, revealing and small, orange-haired girl with a plush lion.

It was Natsu.

"What are you guys doing??" She yelled.

 

........

Hinata turned his head towards his sister, shell shocked. 

Kageyama never looked so painfully embarrassed.

Both the boys senses got under control.

"Uh!!!" Hinata frantically looked around to find something to replace what they were really doing. Finally, he found a pillow next to him, grabbed it, and placed it between Kageyama's hands, causing him to twitch due to this unknown object touching his fingers.

"We're playing a game!" Hinata yelped. 

A game?

"I'm making Kageyama guess what he's touching! Every time he gets it right, he wins a point! Right, Kageyama?"

Kageyama went with it immediately. "Yes!"

"Hhhhhhh! Cool!! Can I play?!" Natsu jumped over to the boys.

"Um...Yeah! Sure! Hehehe.." Hinata was relieved. They would've been dead.

Natsu sat down on the futon next to Hinata and prepared items within reach for the game.

"Mom's cooking breakfast so we can play until she calls!" The little girl said with gleaming eyes. The delicious smell of breakfast began entering the room, making everyone's stomachs growl, Kageyama's being the loudest.

"Let's begin! Kageyama! What are you holding now?!" Hinata announced, pointing at the pillow.

"A pillow." Kageyama answered. 

"Ding ding ding!" You were right! 1 point!" Hinata cheered, raising his hands.

"I wanna give him something now!" Natsu said, taking the pillow away from Kageyama and replacing it with her lion.

"What is it?! Hihihi!" Natsu was pretty excited.

Kageyama began to feel around the the toy. This was much harder than the pillow...

"Uh..." He continued to feel around. He knew it was a stuffed animal, but what kind?

"..It's an elephant." 

Kageyama's answer made them burst into laughter.

"No! It's a lion!" Natsu giggled. Wow. That was embarrassing.

"BREAKFAST IS READY!!" The voice of Hinata's mother echoed through the hall of the house.

"Yay!" Hinata bounced up from the futon and grabbed Kageyama's hand, picking him up from the ground. "Hey! After breakfast, we can practice tossing outside in the yard!" 

"W-wait I can't-!" Kageyama couldn't get a word out. The blur was moving him too fast.

I can't toss...

_______________

 

__________________________

 

After breakfast, fresh air blew into the blind boy's face. He could hear the sounds of birds chirping and the rustling of the trees. He knew he was outside.

"Time for some tosses!" Hinata said happily, grabbing a volleyball and pushing it to Kageyama's chest. Kageyama's face began to tighten itself.

"Dumbass! I can't see, remember?! I can't toss without seeing anything." 

"Have you ever tried?"

"No!"

"Then do it!

"I can't!"

"Yes you can!"

"NO I CAN'T"

Kageyama slammed the ball to the side. He was getting more and more pissed off.

Hinata started to clench his fists

"Stop being so stubborn! At least you can try!" He screamed loudly.

"I don't want to!! It will never work!! It's a waste of effort!!" Kageyama got even louder. "YOU try tossing with your eyes closed!!"

 

"FINE! I WILL!!" Hinata angrily marched over to get the ball. Once he got it, he got into position, and tightly closed his eyes, throwing the ball upward.

As he was ready to toss, he noticed the real difficulty. He had no idea how far the ball was from his face..

Kageyama then heard a thud.

"Ow!" The ball hit Hinata's head pretty hard. He couldn't toss it at all.

"I told you. It's not possible.." Kageyama said. "Now let's go back inside. I'm tired."

But it's barely 10am..?

"I know you can do it." Hinata said as he picked the ball up from the floor. "You're an amazing setter. I bet you can toss fine without looki-"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!!" The blind boy screamed as loud as he could. 

"GIVE IT UP! I'M TIRED OF THIS. AS LONG AS I'M BLIND, I CAN NEVER PLAY VOLLEYBALL AGAIN! EVER! I DON'T WANT TO TRY! I'LL FAIL AND FEEL MORE LIKE SHIT! SO GIVE IT UP!!" 

He was getting emotional. Hinata could feel it. He really didn't want to see Kageyama in more pain, but at the same time he was angry that his friend wouldn't even try. Maybe it's still to early. He's still thinking negatively about himself..

"...Fine...Let's go inside." Hinata's voice was gloomy and quiet. Kageyama kept his angry and depressed face as they went back into Hinata's room.

 

They were sitting on their beds quietly for more than half an hour. Kageyama claimed to have been tired, and wanted to sleep, but couldn't. His negative thoughts were taking over once again.

What a stubborn coward. Not even bothering to try to play again. You're making the people around you feel bad . You good for nothing burden. You're blind. You're worthless. You will never be yourself again. You will never find peace again.

He placed his hands on his head mumbling to himself. The words weren't quite coherent, but Hinata knew it wasn't a good sign. He was getting worried.

"Kageyama..?"

No answer.

"...I'm sorry for riling you up. I didn't mean to..." Hinata kept talking despite his friend looking like he wasn't paying attention to him.

"You need something..?" He asked.

...

...

"Yes.." Kageyama finally spoke. His voice was shaking.

"What do you need?" Hinata immediately asked.

"Peace." And Kageyama immediately replied. "I need peace."

 

"Peace huh.." The orange blur became visible to Kageyama's line of vision.

He knew what Kageyama needed, and he tried to avoid second thoughts. He just wanted to help him.

He began to think of he same sentence as before multiple times as he got closer..

I'm helping him. 

He got closer to his friend's face.

 

I'm helping him.

He gently placed his right hand on the nape of his friend's neck, slowly pulling him closer.

I'm helping him.

They were beginning to feel each other's breaths. Their eyes were closing..

I'm helping him.

Their lips finally touched.

And once more.

Kageyama felt that enjoyable peace. 

Everything was shut down. All thoughts were gone. The unexplainable feeling took over him and he did not mind at all. The world stopped. All cares vanished. 

How long has it been..?

He continued to drown himself in this moment as the gentle kiss continued, followed by the nice feeling of little arms wrapping themselves around his head and back. He also began moving on his own hugging whatever he could feel, which in this case was fluffy hair.

It was slow and calming. He was enjoying this usual peace to the fullest. However, within the enjoyment, the realization of what this feeling really was became clear.

It wasn't just peace. It was far stronger.

Yes, definitely...

It was love...

The kiss stopped. As they pulled back, Hinata violently shook his head, bringing himself back to his senses. He then let out a long sigh.

"Feel better now..?" Hinata quietly asked.

"Huh..? Oh. Yeah. Much better." Kageyama was blushing lightly.

"So did you get the peace you wanted just now..?" Hinata asked again.

"Actually...I just wanted to take a nap before.."

"............................. HUH?!"

"But this was much better." Kageyama was facing the ground. And for some reason, even though his face was straight, he looked like he was slightly smiling.

"Ah. Ok, great."

"Oh..And Hinata." He rose his head at the blur.

"Y-yes?!"

Kageyama's entire body began to shake. He was becomes more flustered..

"Remeber earlier when you asked me if I liked you that much..?" His voice cracked.

"Um yeah? What about that?"

.....

...........

 

"I think I'm in love with you."


	7. True Euphoria

A brief-

no-

A pretty long moment of silence was in the room. It felt like an eternity. No one knew how much time had passed.

Neither Hinata nor Kageyama were facing each other. They were both staring at the ground biting their lips, clueless on how to break this horribly awkward silence.

A glimpse at the sliding windows made Hinata realize that it was already getting dark out. 

The day seemed to be going by fast at first, however, now it seemed like time had stopped.

 

Until finally...Someone spoke.

...

 

"Hinata.." Kageyama's faint voice immediately brought the orange blur's attention. 

"Did you hear...what I said earlier..?"

"....Yes!" Hinata's answer was soft yet slightly cracked. He did hear what his friend said earlier. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about it.

 

I think I'm in love with you.

 

Did he really mean that? 

"Shit." The blind boy started blushing even harder than before. "Why the hell did I say that?! What is wrong with me??" 

He suddenly got up and started pacing around, obviously unaware of his surroundings. Hinata was watching him like a hawk, making sure his blind friend didn't bump into anything. 

 

"I-I didn't mean what I said! I was dazed ou-"

"Desk." Hinata interrupted.

"Eh?" 

"You almost walked into my desk." Hinata said with a faint voice.

"Oh....Anyway!" Kageyama continued pacing.  
"I was dazed out! I didn't mean what I-"

"Wall." Hinata interrupted.

...

"I didn't mean what I said! It just came out and-"

"Door."

....

"Came out and I'm sorry! I don't know why I said something so stupid! My mind's b-"

"Desk again."

"AAAAAGH" Kageyama finally sat down on the floor, hoping he'd land on his futon but ended up sitting next to it.

 

"...Where's my futon..?" He asked.

Hinata grabbed Kageyama's hand and placed it on the futon blanket, making him move over to where he felt it.

 

"....My mind's been out of wack...I'm already going crazy with this stupid blindness.

I told you to kiss me...and then I said I loved you...

I....I....."

"Kageyama..." Hinata said.

 

Kageyama took a deep breath. "...

I think I'm dying."

.............

.............

.........

 

"EEEEEEEEEEEEH???" Hinata suddenly went from faint to loud.

"I've never felt this feeling before. Like my heart's about to explode or give out. It's been hard to breathe. I'm going crazy. I'm saying weird things. My brain is fried. I am dying."

"You're not dying, Bakageyama!!" Hinata yelled. Maybe you're tired! Maybe we both are!!"

Although he wasn't saying it, Hinata's mind was also out of whack. These events were far too confusing for them to take in. Neither of them knew what was going on... Or knew how to properly react.

Maybe they are tired.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Kageyama said quietly. "Let's just go to sleep... Just forget any of this happe-" 

*knock knock*

 

....

A quick series of knocks on the door made both the boys jolt.

"Shouyou? I have something for your friend." It was Hinata's mother, gently opening the door. She had a glass of water with something else in her hand that looked like a little pill.

"I had a feeling that Kageyama will have trouble sleeping with his condition, so I brought some light herbal sleeping pills." She said with a soothing voice. "Kageyama, would you like to take one?"

 

That would help.. 

Since he's become blind, he couldn't really tell if he was asleep or not. And he didn't want to risk sleeping during the daytime without noticing. Even through he couldn't tell the time of day, he still wanted a stable sleeping rhythm. Taking the sleeping pill, especially during his first days of blindness wouldn't be much of a problem.

"Yes please." Kageyama answered, making Hinata's mother walk towards him. She bent down to his level, lightly touching his face to let him know she was in front of him. She then placed the little pill in between his fingers.

"Put it in your mouth and I'll give you some water to help you swallow." She said.

"Why do I need water? I can just eat it?" Kageyama asked confusingly.

Hinata suddenly bursted out laughing. While the mother tried not to.

"You can't chew the pill, stupid!" He said in between his laughter.

"Hey! No name calling!" Hinata's mom scolded her son, causing him to immediately shut up.

"Sorry mom.." He muttered.

Kageyama released a small hidden grin, pleased by the sound of Hinata being...owned.

"So. You can put it in your mouth now." Hinata's mom instructed. Kageyama quickly did what she said. He didn't need to find out where his mouth was. He knew by instinct.

She then gave him the water to assist the swallowing.

"There. It should take effect in about half an hour." She got back up and headed towards the door.

"Oh! About tomorrow. I already called and explained as much as I can to the school. You will be excused for a full week, so you don't need to go to school tomorrow." She continued. "They'll figure out a solution to help you with learning in the meantime."

Kageyama's head rose in the direction he heard the voice, eyes slightly widened. Hinata was in total shock.

"What about the volleyball club?!" Hinata asked loudly.

"What about it..." Kageyama asked Hinata with an almost dead voice. "I can't play anyway."

"Sure you can." 

"You seriously wanna play me again..?" The setter suddenly gave off a fearful vibe.

"Stop saying you can't play! I'm sure there's a way you can!-"

"SHUT UP!!" Kageyama screamed at the top of his lungs, making Hinata's mother jump.

 

There were a few seconds of silence.

 

"Ok. Let's all just calm down for a minute. Hinata, leave your friend alone with that topic. I'm sure he has enough to deal with....Now, I'm going to sleep. I don't want to hear any more bickering. Good night." And with that, she left, closing the door behind her.

It went silent once again.

 

Now that Hinata brought up the number one priority that Kageyama was anxious about, the haunting thoughts crept back into the tall boy's brain. 

You cannot see anymore. 

You can never do what you love ever again.

Everything you have ever done was for nothing in the end.

You will always be a burden.

You are useless.

 

Tears were rolling down his tightened face once more. 

The orange blur immediately went from pissed, to concerned. 

..He figured out that him blurting out such a touchy subject brought his blind friend to overthink again...

Now he had no idea what to say to drive those thoughts away. 

He didn't like seeing Kageyama like this.

It'll be ok? No, he'll just reject that. We'll find a way? Nope, already did that.

....

 

....

 

Or maybe...

 

-No. No way. He couldn't do that again. 

 

That awkward moment they had before would come right back. 

Then again, the moments during that action were nothing short of euphoric.

He wanted to feel that again.

They both did.

 

 

"-Kageyama..?"

No answer.

"Kageyama..?.....Kageyama!"

The setter flinched and moved his head towards the direction of the voice with wet, shocked eyes.

 

His face clearly showed that he was suffering with his inner thoughts. He was sinking down to his lowest point, desperate for an end.

The orange blur began talking. "I know you said you didn't want us to do that thing again bu-

"Do it."

"....eh?"

"I said do it. Do it again. I don't care."

Hinata was completely stiff. He was not expecting such a quick answer like that. 

"Just help me forget everything. Help me turn my mind off. I don't want this anymore. I don't care if it's weird. I don't care if it's creepy. I just want to feel that feeling again. I want this to stop."

The tears continued to spill from the blind boy's face as he tightly clutched the sheet beneath him. 

That was it. The little spiker could not handle the sight of this any longer. 

He didn't want to think it over. 

 

He brushed his hand on Kageyama's shoulder, which then moved to cuff his cheek, wiping some of the tears away.

"I'll do it." He said.

 

Hinata's words made Kageyama slowly exhale. He was already becoming drowsy despite all that was happening. The sleeping medication was taking effect.

 

Just like before, the blur repeated the same process as the last time:

 

He began to think of the same sentence as before multiple times as he got closer..

I'm helping him. 

He got closer to his friend's face, like before.

 

I'm helping him.

Gently placing his right hand on the nape of his friend's neck, slowly pulling him closer, like before.

I'm helping him

Feeling each other's breaths. Eyes were closing..like before

I'm helping him.

And then

Their lips finally touched

Like before.

I'm helping him.

Shutdown. All Kageyama's haunting thoughts were once again overshadowed by the kiss. He's was enjoying the moment, doing actions on his own without remotely thinking. Meanwhile Hinata tried to keep his conscience.

I'm helping him

 

Soon even Hinata began moving on his own, bringing Kageyama down point of them both laying the the futon, with the blur refusing to part his lips from the other's. His arms were tangled in an embrace around his blind friend's warm body.

I'm helping him.

During his moment in paradise, Kageyama realized that he was now laying down with the blur on top of him. However, he didn't care. In fact, it made it feel even better. It was like the perfect dream that he didn't want to end. It felt so good. He started to wrap one arm around Hinata's waist, and another around his head, fingers tangling themselves in fluffy hair.

There lips rarely parted, and when they did, only for less then a second.

I'm helping him

Hinata's stomach was churning, but in a good way. How long has it been? 

It didn't matter. Nothing else really did...

He didn't want this to end. 

He couldn't stabilize himself any longer. He had no more control. This feeling was too strong and pure to deny.

He was not only helping him.

 

I love him.


	8. It

*CRAAAAAAAASH*  
It was dark outside. There was thunder and lightning. Heavy rain was pounding the runway going around what looked like..a hill.

Kageyama was standing in a position which looked like he was ready to sprint. However, for some reason, he couldn't feel his own body. As if it were on autopilot.

Although he was slightly blinded by the the rain, he could see what was in front of him, which was the runway he was positioned on.

Looking through his surroundings, he turned his head to the right 

to see Hin-

*FLASH* 

Everything suddenly went white... Before he had time to even process what was going on, Kageyama was instantly in a new scenario on the mountain, seeing his friend dash ahead of him, blinded by the rain slamming against his face, But... he could not feel that either.

Another flash.

All he could see now was the wet concrete. He was running, but once again he could not feel his own body.

Another flash.

He was falling. The mountain was now far from him. It was getting further and further away. He was terrified. What was going on? What was happening? Is this real? Is this a dream?

He suddenly began hearing a familiar voice calling for him.

"Kageyama!" The voice called out. Kageyama desperately tried to open his mouth to respond but for some reason he couldn't. As if his mouth was zipped shut.

"Kageyama!" The voice called again, becoming more and more audible. The boy's eyes widened in fear. He still couldn't open his mouth.

"Hey!" The voice called again.

Out of nowhere, even though in mid-air, he saw the earth shake.

*FLASH*

........

 

.........

 

..........

"WAKE UP!"

______________________________

"GAAAAAASP" 

Kageyama rose from the futon. Clenching tightly to his pale blue nightshirt and breathing heavily. His milky-colored eyes were completely exposed. He was shaking and twitching.

Tears and sweat were pouring down his face. He couldn't stop crying.

Everything was dark again. He couldn't see anything. Nothing but pitch black. Yup. Back to reality now.

"Are you ok..?" The much needed orange blur popped out and the blind boy felt a gentle pat on his hunched back. His breaths were still quite strong. "Calm down.."

After a short moment of silence, Kageyama was finally able to speak. "Yes..". His voice was shaken up. 

"Looks like you had a nightmare." Hinata calmly spoke as he continued to lightly pat his friend's back to calm him down. "You're ok now. What was it about?"

"I don't know." Kageyama's breaths were slowly going back to normal speed. "It was stormy out..and I was on a mountain....then I was running, next thing I know, I'm falling and..and..just too many random scenarios.."

Hinata froze.

His stomach began twisting. Kageyama may have not known what those scenarios were, but Hinata..

Hinata knew exactly what they were.

 

He immediately wanted to change the subject. He did not want Kageyama to think further on about it. And he wasn't going to let him go further in depth.

 

...

 

"Ok! Well...I'm off to school. My mom's gonna take care of you while I'm gone. She's really good at keeping quests company" The orange blur gently cuffed his friend's cheek.

"And...about the team..." Hinata paused. "..I'll tell them what happened. See if we can find a solution. I'm sure there's one."

Kageyama's face tightened itself. He still doubted the chances of actually finding a solution, but he didn't want anymore bickering. 

"I gotta go now, Kageyama. See you later." Hinata said as he moved his hand away from Kageyama's cheek and-

-quickly pecked his lips

-out of reflex.

Muttered out an incoherent sentence.

And stormed out the door.

.....

......

 

........What just happened..?

 

____________________________

__________

Kageyama was laying on his futon, drowning in his thoughts for what was 2 hours, holding on and feeling around the photo of his mom. He didn't know what else to do. He was afraid to move around and possibly break or bump into some of his friend's belongings. 

He wasn't bored though. He wasn't tired either. However the feeling of him not moving forward and being stuck in one place was slowly getting irritating..

Soft knocks were heard.

No response from the blind boy.

The knocks were heard again. "Kageyama?" 

It was the voice of Hinata's mother. He then heard the door creak open, turning his head towards the sounds.

"Hello." Kageyama said.

"Shouyou went to school earlier. And Natsu's sick today, so she's staying home with us. I'll be taking care of you for the time being, so if there's anything you need at all, don't hesitate to ask." Her gentle voice rang through Kageyama's ears. He could hear the voice louder, indicating that she was moving closer to him.

She sat down next to him.

"Are feeling ok..?" She asked.

"Yes." Kageyama answered quietly.

"Are you sure?" She asked again.

"Yes." Kageyama repeated. 

She could tell the he was shy around her. 

She then noticed the photo in his hands.

"May I ask what's in your hand?" She asked him.

"Hm? Uh...It's a photo."

"Of who..?"

"My mom."

"Oh! She's really pretty." Hinata's mother said happily.

That's exactly what Hinata said before...

"Awww, and you look so cute and small here! You look just like your mommy! Same hair same eyes-"

 

Mommy...

My mommy..

That was word that the blind boy used for his mom, back when she was alive. It was never "mom", always "mommy".

This started to trigger all sorts of emotions, but Kageyama tried his hardest to keep himself content....However, he didn't notice how visible that looked. Hinata's mother knew something was up. She continued to observe the photo.

"Why is the other person scribbled?" She asked.

No answer.

"Is it your dad? Did he do something?"

No answer. His face was tightening even more.

"Where are your parents now?-"

"They're gone."

.....

 

Hinata's mom paused. Kageyama couldn't hear her voice for a while.  
.....

....

...

"What happened to them..?" She quietly asked, unaware of how much privacy she was digging through. Her curiosity and shock took over.

He started to tear up lightly.

Damn it.

"My mom....got sick. And my dad is still alive, but I hardly ever see him because...he goes out all the time with different women. I like it that way though...I rather not see his face at all..." Kageyama answered shakily.

He could of easily lied and made up a different story, but that would've been too much of a hassle. Also, he thought if anyone would understand him, it would be people who went though the same tragedy, which in this case was Hinata's family. He still remembered the time his friend told him his story about how his father died.

"I'm so so sorry.." He finally heard that gentle voice again.

Then some light strokes on his head.

"It must've been really hard for you, growing up in a setting like that.. But I'm sure her spirit is looking after you and guiding you through these tough times....I know my husband is with me. He left this world as well, but I can feel his spirit taking care of us"

Kageyama was quiet, enjoying the soft strokes and voice. His tears were slowly drying up as well.

"I don't want to replace your mom, but I will try my best to assist her in helping you get through this. You deserve some parental guidance, so I'll help you. We all will." She continued.

".....Thank you..for understanding." Kageyama muttered.

She giggled lightly.

The strokes slowly stopped.

"Today will be a perfect day, everything will be ok."

"Huh?" Kageyama was confused. That was random..

"It's something my husband always said during different situations. It may sound like a normal sentence, but it gave him confidence and a positive mindset. Now me and my kids do it too out of habit. Maybe you can try it sometime. Haha. It does have it's magic."

Her kids do it too? So that means Hinata says it too...was that what he muttered before he left..?

"Say. How about I get you some milk? Shouyou said you love drinking milk."

"Uh-Yes please!" He answered.

"Oh! You're getting louder. That's good." She happily said.

"I'll be right back then."

...

Kageyama couldn't hear anymore noises after that.

"Today will be a perfect day, everything will be ok..huh." He muttered to himself. "Sounds dumb..."

.....

....

"Today will be a perfect day, everything will be ok."

"Today will be a perfect day, everything will be ok."

"Today will be a perfect day, everything will be ok."

"Today will be a perf-"

"HELLO MR. KAGEYAMA!"

Well that was bullshit.

The door swung open, followed by an annoying, high-pitched voice. The complete opposite of that of Hinata's mother...

That must be Natsu.

Isn't she sick?

She ran over to the blind boy and began whispering in his ear.

"Pssst" the sound tickled his ear. "I told mom that I was sick, but....hihihi, but I'm not~ I faked it so I can stay and play with you." She laughed.

"I don't wanna play." Kageyama said in a grumpy voice.

"But it'll help you trust your ears! Like training!" She got louder. C'mon! You can't stay in bed the whole day! Let's play!"

"No. I can't see. I'll end up knocking over things." Kageyama retorted.

"Hmm? No, you won't. I don't see anything you can knock over."

"Eh?"

"Shouyou moved all his utensils and stuff in his closet this morning. All I see is an empty desk, shelves and his bed."

 

He what??

 

"He really did that??"

"Yup. So can we play now...?"

"..."

"I-I mean train!" Natsu yelled.

"..Fine. Nothing else I can do." Kageyama gave in. 

"YAY!! Ok ok! So here's how it goes. I'll-"

"NATSU??! What are you doing out of bed??!" Hinata's mom was by the door with a black, metal bottle filled with milk. "You told me you were sick!"

"I feel better now, mom!" Natsu pouted. "I wanted to pla-I mean, train with Kageyama!"

"Did you even ask him if he wanted to do that?" Her mother said with crossed arms.

"Yeah!"

No.

"You can train with us too, mom!"

"I'll pass. Instead I'll watch what you mean by training.." Hinata's mom said as she walked over the Kageyama, placing the bottle in his hand. "Here's your milk." She said with a smile.

"Thank you." Kageyama said as he drank from the bottle.

"Ok. Back to the game!" Natsu stood up.

"I'll hide in a random place in the room, and you have to find me! Like hide and seek...except you don't need to count..or wear a blindfold."

Kageyama was silent.

"I also make noises to help you." 

"Ok. Fine." Kageyama said with a straight face.

How was this going to help him exactly? Maybe it'll teach him to fully rely on sounds and strengthen his hearing? Or smell? 

 

"Let's begin." The little girl started running around. Kageyama could hear her footsteps loud and clear, as if she were purposely stomping.

The sounds got louder...quieter...then louder again.

Then suddenly. No more noise.

"Ready~" She whispered.

The blind boy let out a huge sigh, and slowly stood up. 

He didn't move. He was waiting for another signal.

 

*clap clap* 

He immediately moved his head to the left, then slowly, cautiously walked towards that direction.

Even though there was nothing to knock over, he was still concerned about bumping into furniture. However, maybe Natsu or her mom will warn him beforehand.

"Wall! Be careful!" Hinata's mom chimed in.

Like now.

Kageyama stopped, waiting for another signal, trying his best to heighten his senses.

*whistle*

He turned a bit to the left, then started walking.

More and more.

Until he was right in front of her.

"Stop!" Natsu's voice was super loud to Kageyama's ears. He immediately looked down.

"EEEK! Scary!" Natsu screamed.

The blind boy placed his hand on Natsu's head with a grin. "Gotcha."

"Woohoo! Good job! Let's go again!"

Kageyama continued grinning. This actually was helping.

And strangely..

He was having fun.

__________________

__________

_____

It was time for volleyball practice.

The team was already set and ready to begin. All except Hinata who not only arrived late, but also looked super nervous. 

I have to tell them what happened...but how..?

Hinata's strange behavior immediately drew attention.

"Hinata! You're late!" Coach Ukai called out to him from the other side of the court. "Are you fit for training today? You seem tired. And where's Kageyama?"

"Coach! I-I have something to say!" Hinata's shaky voice silenced everyone on the court.

"...Yeah? What is it?" Ukai walked over to him, followed by the other team members.

"It's about Kageyama."


End file.
